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Rowel spurs and Plaque Belts?

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Sir_Edward_ReBrook:
Gentlemen:

Do you know of anyone who produces nice quality rowel spurs suitable for an early 15th Century Knight? Also, is there anyone out there who manufactures plaque belts like would have been seen at Agincourt? I am unclear if these were purely decorative or if they were actually used to hang the sword from the waist. Your thoughts and ideas are appreciated.

Ian:
plaque belts -

Lorifactor - wide variety of types and styles, high end finishing
Bractea - small variety, also very nice finishing
Klinstejn - not as high end as the first two, but serviceable and much less expensive

rowel spurs -

Armour and Castings can be gold plated as well

Sword suspension... well, by 1415 on new armors we start to see a discrete, thin sword belt being worn.  But earlier in the 15th century (so still appropriate for Agincourt) we see on effigies swords magically suspended directly from the plaque belt, which is how I wear mine.  To accomplish this we use a small staple attached to the back of a molded throat locket through which a leather strap passes and buckles around the plaque belt.  There are historical survivals of throat lockets with such a staple, and there are also artistic depictions of scabbard throat lockets with a buckle riveted directly to it for a leather strap.

Just a word of caution though, worrying about spurs, plaque belts and sword suspension is really the absolute last thing you need to worry about putting together a high end 1415 kit.  Those are finishing touches, and especially in the case of the plaque belt, it needs to be measured to fit around your finished cuirass and fauld.  If you go with a custom armorer that does good historical work, this is a long ways down the road.  I think in another thread somewhere you mentioned contacting Anshelm Arms.... I would head over to the Armour Archive and search for some reviews, they can sometimes be difficult to deal with and not always deliver on their promises.

Sir_Edward_ReBrook:
Much appreciated, Sir Ian. Lorifactor definitely has great stuff. Yes, I was rather disappointed with Anshelm. They were very good with communication, but I thought that their custom armour examples, while appearing to be very functional, took some rather large liberties in design that distracted from their historical look. I'm looking harder at Piotr Feret, Best Armour, and Steel Mastery. I really like your bascinet from Mr. Feret, and I'm hoping he can make a great bascinet with the more rounded visor. I also liked that Steel Mastery actually allows online ordering, but they don't appear to have the right great/back plate, so I'm hoping Mr. Feret can meet all my needs.

Lord Dane:
I'd go with Sir Ian's recommendations on these items. I did and got mine from the exact same places. No complaints on any of the historical or quality of the purchases. You get your money's worth. NOTE: Lorifactor takes a LONG TIME to deliver their products. Order early.

Sir James A:
Raymond's Quiet Press also has spurs

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